“Michael Campbell says his drive came from his desire to prove to the world that Maoris can play golf.” As reported by Dev Trehan at Sky Sports.

Iconic CampbellMichael Campbell features in episode 32 of Sky Sports' My Icon series and the headline reads, “Michael Campbell wanted to make a statement by succeeding in golf,” and we’re told, “Campbell played a variety of sports as a kid growing up in New Zealand, but in his teens was forced to accept he would never be "big enough, fast enough, or strong enough" to play for the All Blacks.But he had natural talent as a young golfer and would go on to win 15 tournaments in his 22-year professional career, including the US Open in 2005.”

An elitist sport for old menDev writes, “I (Michael Campbell) never told my friends I played golf because I knew if I told them I will be kicked out of my circle of friends. I kept it a secret for like eight or 10 years…"When I was going to school, I didn't even tell my close buddies I played golf because back in the 1980's it was regarded as an old man's sport, an elite sport to play and [I felt the attitude was] why should a Maori like myself play golf?

"My main motivation to play golf and to succeed at what I did was to prove to the world that Maoris can play golf as well as rugby."That is truly the reason why I wanted to do well in this game."